The speculation is over. The 15 have been named. For some, it’s a first shot at cricket’s biggest prize; for others, it is perhaps their last attempt to win the WC.
The speculation is over. The 15 have been named. For some, it’s a first shot at cricket’s biggest prize; for others, it is perhaps their last attempt to win the World Cup. India’s chosen ones have to retrieve what was once ours 24 years ago. Question is, are they hungry enough?
In the end, there were a few new faces, and a few young faces. After months of experimentation, the national selection committee fell upon the trusted-and-tested policy.
That Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan did little of note since their return from South Africa was easily forgotten. The profligacy and failure of Anil Kumble was overlooked. And the ‘ignore youth at your peril’ talk was conveniently buried under the carpet. All the three — Pathan, Sehwag and Kumble — found place in the 15-man World Cup squad the average age of which is around 28.
Both captain Rahul Dravid and selection committee chairman Dilip Vengsarkan admitted that it was the past record than the present utility that has put Sehwag and Kumble on board of the flight to the Caribbean.
“Sehwag has done it before. It’s just about getting the right combination for the World Cup,” said Dravid. Vengsarkar virtually repeated those words when asked to justify the committee’s preference for Kumble ahead of Ramesh Powar. “He has done reasonably well before. He is an experienced campaigner.” He felt sad for Powar though.
There was little surprise elsewhere too. As Dravid said, the other players — Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Munaf Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, S Sreesanth and Dinesh Kaarthick — picked themselves. Tendulkar, once again, was named vice-captain.
Both Dravid and Vengsarkar have maintained that it was the best possible XV at their disposal and the captain expressed confidence that he can lead the squad to the semifinals. “I am satisfied with the balance of the team. We’ve the experience of having played well in West Indies. We are quite confident of doing well in the Super Eight stage and make the semis. From there on we can have a shot at the title.”
Another inspiring factor, Dravid felt, was the fact it would be the last world Cup for some. “Many guys in the team realise that it is their last shot at the World Cup. These players in particular would be keen to stand up and be counted.”
But the key to success, according to the skipper, was the performance of the top six or seven players. “At the end of the day it’s important how well you play in the World Cup. If six to seven players have a good tournament then we will have a good World Cup.”
The squad: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthick, Mahendra Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Shantakumaran Sreesanth and Munaf Patel.
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